We had a great time at the Columbus Jazz & Rib Festival over the weekend. The weather was excellent, the crowds were phenomenal and those in attendance were very welcoming and appreciative. Kudos to the crew for making things ridiculously easy for us, especially with a short changeover time. And best of all, there was BBQ, almost a literal mile of it, which made us extremely happy and filled our smoked-meat intake quota for the next month or so. All in all, a short trip, but a very rewarding one nonetheless. We love Ohio — see you at the Grog Shop in Cleveland on August 31st!

We’ve had a couple of weekends off, during which time we’ve experienced all kinds of things — beach vacations, belated spring cleaning, yard work, trumpet player got winged by a stray bullet…you know, the usual. But July is upon us, and things are starting to pick up again. We hope you’ll come check us out sometime this summer, as we have all manner of gigs scheduled in all sorts of places. The patio at Scape, the capitol in Jeff City, amphitheaters in Kirkwood and Jefferson Barracks Park and, of course, our home base, the Broadway Oyster Bar. Scattered amidst these varied venues are road trips to Columbus and Cleveland (we’re big in Ohio this summer for some reason) and maybe a couple other cities as well. We’re playing indoors and out, near and far, but always with the aim to entertain the folks who come out to see us. We hope you will be among them.

As many of you have probably heard by now, our trumpet player Adam Hucke was struck in the shoulder by a stray bullet on June 19. The incident happened as some knuckleheads with guns decided to stage their own OK Corral at the White Castle across from the Broadway Oyster Bar, where Adam was playing with another band. We could make jokes about the perils of playing with other bands or the dangers of eating at White Castle, but this is a serious issue, made even more serious when the theoretical becomes personal. The good news (awesome news, really) is that Adam is OK, and he should be back to drinking Bud Light Lime and wailing onstage in plenty of time for our upcoming shows. This was a random incident that could have happened anywhere, anytime, to anyone — which is the beginning of a rant about current gun laws best saved for another day and another forum. In the meantime, here’s to Adam, who literally took a bullet for his art. GB.

Our 2014 calendar is (knock on wood) nearly overflowing with gigs, but there are still a few dates open. If you have a party or other social gathering in need of some rambunctious, infectious New Orleans-meets-St. Louis brass funk music, best thing to do is get on your handy mobile device and call Talent Plus Entertainment at (314) 421-9400. They’re very nice people who will work with you and quote a fair price for your event. Then we’ll show up and play on the agreed-upon date, your family/friends/co-workers will scream with delight, and everybody goes home happy. That’s the way it usually works out, anyway. Hope to hear from you soon!

It’s a brand new year, and that means the horizon is wide open once again. Our 2014 calendar is filling up quickly, which is a good thing, but there’s still room for a few killer gigs — maybe a new bar or club we’ve never played, or a fun festival in a town we’ve never visited. We love meeting new people, playing for new audiences and making new friends. If you know of any places that might like our music, please send them our way. Here’s hoping the New Year brings good things to all of you. And if you happen to catch us at a show, come on up and say hello. We’re reasonably social and have been known to speak in complete sentences now and again. Hope to see you soon!

Well, the 5th Annual Funky Butt Brass Band Holiday Brasstravaganza has come and gone, and it’s safe to say it was a sparkling success. This year’s show featured a dazzling array of special guests, including keyboardist David Grelle of The Feed, frontman Steve Ewing of The Urge, bluesman Big Mike Aguirre, percussionist Matt Henry, burlesque from Mimi LeYu of the Randy Dandies, and more! Plus a visit from everyone’s favorite Jolly Old Elf, Santa Claus (well played by Bob Bennett)! We wanted to send out big thanks to everyone who was involved in putting it together (we’re looking at you, Steve Pohlman from Off Broadway) and especially to all those who showed up to help us celebrate. There was definitely plenty of holiday spirit to go around. Check out the photos and videos on our Gallery page!

Every now and again, we like to take our third set at the Broadway Oyster Bar and play the music of a single artist or band. We call it “Covered In Brass,” and on August 9, 2013, it was the Allman Brothers Band. We were fortunate to be joined by master percussionist Matt Henry, and it was about as much fun as humans should be allowed to have. Check it out: http://funkybuttbrassband.com/album/covered-in-brassallman-brothers-band-8-9-13/

Actually, every day is Fan Appreciation Day in FBBB land. We probably don’t say or write it often enough, but we are immensely appreciative of all the support we get, here in St. Louis and wherever we travel. We couldn’t do what we do without you (well, we could, but it would be very boring and lonely). You are the cream in our coffee, the butter on our biscuit, the wind beneath our wings and all those other silly metaphors. We truly appreciate you coming to our shows, buying our music, saying nice things in the press and in person, and allowing us opportunities to play some really fun and interesting places on a fairly regular basis. It means the world to us, and we thank you.

That’s “The Wall,” as in Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” We opened on the side stage before the El Monstero tribute to Pink Floyd on Saturday, July 20th at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (or, as it’s still known to many of us, Riverport). We also appeared onstage during the El Monstero set, playing “When The Tigers Broke Free” and “Outside The Wall,” in full pig makeup and all. If you’re a Pink Floyd fan, you owe it to yourself to check out an El Monstero show. It’s an amazing concert experience. Our friend, awesome photographer Madison Thorn captured a bit of our porcine onstage adventure. (Photo courtesy of Madison Thorn Photography)

It’s an honor to win a Riverfront Times Music Award, let alone four in a row. This year, we were named Best Soul/Funk Band, which is pretty amazing, given the level of the competition. Thanks to all who voted!